Making

Full-time Nick Gibbs works as a woodman, helping with tree work and landscaping for a father and son team. Shifts start early and last till the afternoon, giving him time to write and make afterwards. Research for Hidden Talents, his book proposal, is done in the truck during the day and emailed to a desktop Mac at home, where he can read and print the links.

As part of his work, Nick Gibbs makes replicas of famous and favourite golf holes. His little business, Fairway Originals, can recreate any hole, on any course, anywhere in the world. For more details visit www.fairwayoriginals.co.uk. Nick also posts as @replicagolfholes just in case visitors have a friend or relation who might like to order one of our carvings as a gift, trophy or commemoration.

Since Nick’s accident he has had to find new ways to earn a living. More often than not they have been menial, for employers, but now he is attempting to find his own way. One of the reasons he set up Freshwood Publishing in 2007 was to ensure freedom for the rest of his life. That would have been so, especially as the company was doing well in 2014, without the damage to his brain. In 2016 he was a handyman for a pub, but the hours and tasks were too variable, and the bus service was unpredictable. So now he has become The Garden Handyman in Cirencester, where he lives.